Palo Pinto

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 41 degrees, high 72 degrees, partly cloudy, windy

Happy Valentine's Day to all the sweethearts.

We took a road trip over to Palo Pinto and Mineral Wells today. In the interest of not getting too wordy, I'll only talk about what we saw in Palo Pinto and our trip over there, along with some of the history of the area. I'll catch everybody up on Mineral Wells tomorrow.

Palo Pinto County is located about 50 miles northwest of where we are staying. Our route took us through the very small towns of Lipan, Santo, and Lone Camp. The little towns may have been of some consequence 100 years ago, but they are just crossroads now with small businesses that serve the areas. The road over to Palo Pinto is a two lane road that passes through some of the most rugged countryside in the area. Palo Pinto is Spanish for painted post or tree - the Indians in the area painted tree trunks along the banks of the north fork of Palo Pinto Creek.

The first white man in the area is assumed to have been William (Bigfoot) Wallace, who surveyed the area in 1837.

In 1856 the Texas State Legislature established Palo Pinto County from parts of Bosque and Navarro counties. The county was organized the next year, with the town of Golconda chosen to be the seat of government. The town was renamed Palo Pinto in 1858.

At this time, the town of Palo Pinto has few businesses, but is the seat of government for the county. The courthouse is here, as are several old homes, old jail, and other reminders of the roots of the town. It appears that the citizens of the town are attempting to build a tourist industry out of the history of the area.

Even though Palo Pinto is the county seat, the largest town in the county is Mineral Wells, which I will write about tomorrow.

More later, be safe.

Today's County - Palo Pinto County, Texas: A Land, A River, A People

Last Doctor's Visit

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 30 degrees, high 64 degrees, heavy frost this morning, clear skies, calm

Carolyn had her last visit today with the doctor that has been the lead in treating her vertigo. She has been released to carry on normal activites again. We are hopeful that the tools she has been given to help her manage the vertigo when it strikes again will help her to get over future episodes.

We have not decided when we will leave here yet, nor where we will go. There are some tasks we need to take care of, plus we have a few local sights we still want to visit and write stories on.

We received our absentee voting ballots today, and immediately filled them out. We'll put them in the mail tomorrow. For some reason, I don't have the enthusiasm for voting this year as I have in the past. Could it be because none of the candidates embrace the ideals I believe in? I voted for the candidates I thought came closest to what I believe in, but I am under no illusions that they will do what they say they will.

Comache Peak is a local landmark that dominates the countryside, and is located about three miles north of us. Actually a mesa, the peak rises 1,229 feet (above sea level), which is about 400 feet above the surrounding countryside. It was thought to have had ceremonial value for local tribes and was a look-out point for game and enemies. The Comanche Peak Nuclear Station, located about four miles south, was named after the local landmark.




The picture above was taken about eight miles away.
This picture was taken about four miles away.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Leesburg, Florida: The Lakefront City

Cleburne, Texas

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 41 degrees, high 57 degrees, clear, windy

A line of thunderstorms passed through the area early this morning about 0330-0400. Lots of lightning and thunder, and it rained hard for about 30 minutes. The rain was welcomed, since the area is so dry.

We took a drive over to Cleburne today so we could look around and get some pictures of local landmarks. Cleburne is the county seat of Johnson County and on the route of the old Chisholm Trail. There were a couple of smaller settlements in the area that were combined, and Cleburne was formed in 1867 in order to have a more centrally located county seat. The town was named in honor of Gen. Patrick R. Cleburne, under whom many of the men had fought during the Civil War. The major growth of the town in its early years was caused by machine shops that supported the railroads that went through the area. The population of the town at this time is about 25,000.

Cleburne still uses the courthouse that was built in 1912, even though it looks newer than that. The building is undergoing renovations to allow its use for the future.

As you come into Cleburne from the west, there is a park that is used to celebrate the area's history, especially the part that deals with the Chisholm Trail.

One of the things we like to look for in our travels is murals and old signs painted on the sides of buildings. This one, as does most of the ones we see, depicts some of the events that occurred in the past in the area.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Cleburne, Texas: It’s A Great Place To Hang Your Hat

Abe and Mabel

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 59 degrees, high 74 degrees, cloudy

We are expecting thunder storms, with the possibility of hail tonight. Bad weather is always something we try to keep an eye on, but even more so at night because we can't see what is happening. Hopefully, it will be weaker than projected.

We were going to go to Cleburne today to do some sightseeing and take pictures, but the cloudiness was not conducive to taking good pictures. We decided to wait until the sun is shining before we go out again. In the meantime, I took some books back to the library in Glen Rose, and checked out more. In the afternoon, I took some videos back to the library in Granbury and picked up some more for viewing when there is not anything on TV.

Last night, we watched The Passion of the Christ. It is a violent movie, and by the end of it, I found myself looking away when the violence starting seeming a little over the top. What we saw in the movie was probably less than what actually happened.

Several days ago, I promised that I would introduce our pets to everyone. When we started traveling, we noticed that a lot of people had pets with them. The pets ranged from little dogs to huge dogs, cats with a lot of hair to cats with almost no hair, birds, fish, horses, guinea pigs, etc. We decided we would have a pet, but after talking about it, we obtained two pets, because we didn't want a pet by itself to be lonely. Much like having two dogs so one dog would not be lonely. After thinking about it and discussing all the options that are available, we decided to get two flamingos. Now, I know that a flamingo is an unusual pet, but we like to keep people guessing about what we will do next. The flamingos are named Abe and Mabel.

Note that Mabel is turned away from Abe a little. She is ticked off at Abe for being out late with the other boy flamingos last night. Abe is on the left and Mabel is on the right. The obvious question you might ask is how do we know which one is Abe and which one is Mabel. It's just like when a family has identical twins. They always know which twin is which. I mean, look at them. Can't you see the differences?

I'll keep everyone posted on Abe and Mabel's adventures as we travel across the country.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Weatherford, Texas: Cutting Horse Capital of the World (I know that's three mottos in a row for Weatherford, but I thought they were pretty original)

Slow Sunday

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 32 degrees, high 74 degrees, clear skies, calm

Just another beautiful day in north central Texas. It is amazing how nice it can be here when the weather is like it has been the past few days.

I had intended to show everyone some pictures of the dominant natural feathure of this area, Comanche Peak, which is located about three miles north of us. However, the pictures I took do not do justice to how the peak, which is actually a mesa, dominates the landscape. We'll try again in a day or two.

Today was another of those slow days we have occasionally, where we didn't have much happening. The only time we left the RV was to take a couple of pictures of Comanche Peak, and that was not a success. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

In the meantime, be safe.

Happy Birthday, Joyce.

Today's Town - Weatherford, Texas: The Peach Capital of Texas

Weatherford, Texas

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 32 degrees, high 70 degrees, clear and calm, 16% humidity. A beautiful day.

Today is our daughter Lori's birthday. Happy Birthday, Dear.

Since the weather was so nice, we decided to take a short trip over to Weatherford, located about 25 miles from where we are. The drive over there is through some of the prettiest countryside you could ever want to drive through.

Weatherford is located 20 miles west of Fort Worth, and is growing rapidly. The population is about 25,ooo, and you can find just about anything you might want in the way of stores. A lot of building is going on, the traffic is heavy, and the town does not appear to be ready for what is coming at them. Several famous people are from here, including Mary Martin, who created the Peter Pan role on Broadway, and Jim Wright, speaker of the House of Representatives.

Famous cattle driver Oliver Loving is buried here in Greenwood Cemetery. After being attacked by Indians in New Mexico in 1867, Loving’s dying wish to his friend, Charles Goodnight, was to be buried in his home, Parker County. Goodnight brought the body back six hundred miles by wagon for burial. If this story sounds familiar, it should. It is the inspiration behind Texas author Larry McMurtry's novel, Lonesome Dove.

A year earlier, Goodnight had invented the first chuckwagon which carried everything needed to cook for the cowboys on a cattle drive that would later become known as the Goodnight-Loving Trail.

Boze Ikard, who served with Goodnight and for whom the character “Deets” was named after in Lonesome Dove, was also buried in the Greenwood Cemetery.

Also known as the Cutting Horse Capital of the World, Weatherford is home to hundreds of professional trainers, Hall-of-Fame horses and a life-size bronze cutting horse.

Named by the State Legislature as the Peach Capital of Texas, Weatherford and Parker County growers celebrate each year at the Parker County Peach Festival, Weatherford’s largest event. More than 35,000 visitors come to Weatherford to enjoy homemade peach ice cream, peach cobbler, peach pie, peach juleps, peach smoothies, and just plain peaches.

More than sixty Queen Anne, Victorian, and other beautiful homes built at the turn of the century sit along the streets. The crown jewel is the Parker County Courthouse. Located in the geographical center of the county, this courthouse is the in the heart of downtown.

Along with all the stuff I listed above, the area also has some urban legend stuff, consisting mainly of the claim that a big, hairy ape-like animal roams the area. A cast has been made of a foot print, but it is only for the left foot. So, is this a one-legged booger, or does he have a peg leg?

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Weatherford, Texas: Growing With Tradition

Global Warming Versus Global Cooling

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 38 degrees, high 74 degrees, windy, clear skies

Today was a quiet day for us. I did manage to start wiping the winter dirt off the outside of the RV. The way I do it uses very little water. Since I keep the walls waxed, it is easy to wet a rag and wipe the dirt off.

I was so busy doing nothing I did not have time to take pictures of our pets. I promise, I'll get around to it. And while I'm at it, I'll take pictures of Carolyn's plants.

I'm sure everyone heard about the tornadoes that ripped across the south this week and killed more than 50 people. That was a terrible loss of life and property. Did anyone see the comment that John Kerry made that the tornadoes were caused by global warming? It must be a heck of a talent to be able figure out what Mother Nature is doing and why, and to be able to say it with certainty. No wonder he is a US Senator. The rest of us don't have a private line to Mother Nature.

I saw where Canadian researchers are saying that the small amount of sun spot activity in the current 11 year sun spot cycle could lead to global cooling. I wish the doom sayers on both side of the global warming versus global cooling controversy would get together and come up with a consensus on this stuff. Of course, that would be too much to ask, with both sides getting money to research and bolster their positions.

Carolyn fixed a great potato soup for dinner. Along with ham and pepperjack tortilla rollups, it was very tasty and filling.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Burnet, Texas: Bluebonnet Capital of Texas